This application is directed to products derived from polyether modified phenol-containing Mannich bases which are highly useful as ashless dispersants when small amounts thereof are combined with hydrocarbon fuels, or lubricating oils. The invention accordingly relates to novel products and to the use of such products in lubricants or liquid fuels to improve the detergent characteristics thereof and to improve fuel consumption in internal combustion engines.
Those skilled in the art know that additives impart special properties to the lubricants and fuels to which they have been added. They may provide new properties or they may enhance properties already present. It is also well known that under the severe driving conditions with respect to operating temperatures of internal combustion engines and to weather conditions as well, sludge and other deposits form in the crankcase and in the oil passages of gasoline or diesel engines which severely limits the ability of the oil to lubricate the engine. Accordingly, there is a constant search and need for new and improved additives which will not only improve lubricity, but maintain cleanliness and disperse sludge formations.
Products containing both polyether and amine fragments are known as dispersants as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,234,321, 4,261,704 and 4,696,755. Unlike the instant invention the '755 patent describes growing polyether groups off saturated aliphatic alcohols and using the products as lubricant oil dispersants; the '704 patent describes preparing polyoxyalkylene polyamines by reacting a polyoxyalkylene polyol or glycol with a halogen containing compound; the '321 patent describes an additive produced by a hydrocarbylpoly (oxyalkylene) alcohol with phosgene and certain polyamines.
It is also well known in the art to employ nitrogen-containing dispersants and/or detergents to overcome or at least alleviate the above mentioned problems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,755 is directed to lubricating oils containing an additive useful for its dispersancy and detergency characteristics comprising hydroxy polyether amines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,034 disclose the use of a reaction product of a polyether amine and maleic anhydride as a carburetor detergent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,182 discloses polyether diamines as sludge inhibitors in petroleum distillate fuels. U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,492 is directed to the reaction products of Mannich bases with amines, thiols or dithiophosphoric acids.
It is now been found that polyether groups or polyoxyalkylene groups can be grown off the phenol portion of Mannich bases to provide dispersency characteristics for both lubricant and fuel compositions.